Update: 28 students injured in Washington Co. school bus crash

Parents wait to pick up their kids after Washington Co. school bus crash. Courtesy: WCYB

Courtesy: Misty Harrell

Courtesy:Misty Harrell

Parents wait to pick up their kids after Washington Co. school bus crash. Courtesy: WCYB

According to the Washington County school system, 28 students from David Crockett High School were hurt after the school bus they were on rolled over and crashed off a rural road near Jonesborough.

"We were just going down the road, and the tire hit the ditch, and we started flipping... started flipping three or four times," said crash victim Cody Silvers, near the crash scene in Talford.

Silvers was one of the 67 students on the bus at the time it was traveling down Mt. Wesley Road. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the school bus was going downhill on the rural street after 3:00 p.m. Thursday, when its tires dropped off the side of the small roadway.

The bus driver over-corrected and the vehicle overturned on a nearby field.

"There were a bunch of people on top of me, and (a friend) was helping as we were trying to get the door open," said victim David Story.

Witnesses describe students crawling out of the bus' windows, trying to escape the wrecked bus.

"The window was out of the front of the bus and (my husband) helped out each and every one of them safe. Some were calling out each and every way," said witness Misty Harrell.

Those injured were taken to Holston Valley, Johnson City Medical Center and Franklin Woods Hospitals. Authorities tell WCYB-TV none of the injuries are life-threatening.

"We had two head injuries, two broken femurs. The rest we had were some broken arms, broken forearms, cuts, lacerations, that was the majority," said trooper Diane May.

The bus driver did not suffer extensive injuries from the crash. A formal investigation will begin into the crash starting on Friday.

Editor's note: Originally, THP said 22 students were injured from the crash. Late Thursday night, the Washington County school system updated the total number of injured to 28.

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Update: 4:50 pm The Tennessee Highway Patrol says 22 of 67 students on board that school bus have been transported to three area hospitals: Holston Valley, Johnson City Medical Center and Franklin Woods Hospital.

THP says preliminary reports indicate that the tires of the bus dropped off the right side of the roadway, causing the bus to flip.

The bus driver received minor injuries, but has not been transported to a hospital.

Mt. Wesley Road is shut down.

Update: 3:00 pm Approximately a dozen high school students were sent to the hospital after a school bus crash in Washington County, Tennessee.

According to Susan Kiernan, Assistant Director of Washington Co. Schools, bus #88, which was subbing for bus #30, was carrying 67 students home from Davy Crockett High School when it flipped over on rural Mt. Wesley Road in the Telford area. The accident happened around 3:00 pm.

Kiernan says 10-12 students were taken to Johnson City Medical Center for treatment, another twenty students were injured. Three helicopters were dispatched to transport kids to the hospital.

There's no word yet on what caused the crash. It was the only vehicle involved. Kiernan says the female bus driver was out of the bus and walking around after the accident, but she didn't know if she was injured.

Johnson City Medical Center told WJHL-TV that they have called a "Code Delta", which means that they are taking in an unusually large amount of patients.

10News will have more on this developing story when it becomes available.

From Johnson City Press:

Twenty Washington County high school students have been injured in a school bus crash out in the county.

According to Johnson City/Washington County Emergency dispatch, five ambulances and three helicopters have been sent to 477 Mount Wesley Road, where the crash happened.

The bus crashed around 3 p.m.

Johnson City Medical Center has received patients from the crash by helicopter and by ambulance.

The hospital's disaster protocol has been initiated to handle the volume of patients.

It was unclear the extent of the injuries the students suffered.

The Johnson City Press has a photographer and reporters headed to the scene.